Sheet drier



Nov. 15, 1938. H HONlGMAN 2,136,880

SHEET DRIER Filed Nov. 2, 1955 i s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Nov. 15, 1938. H. HONIGMIAN SHEET DRIER Filed Nov. 2', 1935 5 sheets sheet 2 INVENTQR. v

ATTORNEYJ H. HONIGMAN Nov. 15, 1938.

SHEET DRIER Filed NOV. 2, 1935 5 Sjxeets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

Mus .fiM/GMAN wmmr Wmu

MMJM

ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 15, 1938.

H. HONIGMAN 'SHEET DRIER Filed Npv. 2, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYJ.

H. HONlGMAN SHEET DRIER Nov. 15, 1938.

Filed Nov. 2, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENTOR.

W N m A 0 m WM Patented Nov. 15, 1938 2,136,880

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Hans Honigman, East Cleveland, Ohio, .assignor, by mesne assignments, to Marbon Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application November 2, 1935, Serial No. 48,023

' '6 Claims. (01. 34-11) This invention relates to improvements in sheet operating mechanism which. may be employed driers, that is to say apparatus for drying sheets when the drier is used in conjunction with a sheet of paper or the like after the sheets have been spraying means.

printed or otherwise treated, and particularly Fig. 11 is a perspective detail view of one of the after the sheets have been sprayed with waterbell cranks employed upon the descending stack, 5 proofing liquid, such as lacquer. together with the dog operating mechanism One of the objects of the invention is the provitherefor. sion of an apparatus which shall be compact and Fig. 12 is a perspective view of one of the bell even portable, so as to be capable of being used cranks employed on the ascending stack, and

with difierent machines at different times, while Fig. 13 is a detail view of a ratchet mechanism 10 providing nevertheless sufficient drying space and for lowering the delivery pile. a suflicient number of racks or trays to accom- Similar reference characters refer to like parts plish the drying operation satisfactorily. throughout the views.

Another object is the provision of novel and In the drawings 1 have shown at III a frame 15 simple means for raising and lowering the trays which is made portable by being mounted on 15 in the upgoing and downgoing stacks, respeccasters II. There is also provision for lifting it tively. off of the casters and supporting it upon rigid feet A further object is the provision of suitable when placed in a desired position adjacent a means for unloading the trays and operating a printing press or other machine. For this pur- LO sheet delivery mechanism. pose curved brackets [2 are attached to the four Other objects and fea ures of novelty will corners of the frame, and posts l3 are threadably appear as I proceed with the description of that mounted in the brackets and operated by means embodiment of the invention which, for the purof pivoted handles l4. poses of the present application, Ihave illustrated The frame Ill is adapted to be brought into in the accompanying drawings, in which juxtaposition with some other paper handling 25 Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a drier conmachine, and is illustrated herein as shown in structed in accordance with the invention and operating relation with a paper spraying appaarranged in operative relation with a sheet sprayratus indicated generally at IS. A sheet conveyor ing device, the lowermost trays only of each stack consisting of a series of endless tapes l6 constibeing illustrated. tutes the means for feeding paper sheets to the 30 Fig. 2 is a similar view on a larger scale, certain sprayer. The spraying nozzles are indicated at of the parts being broken away or shown in sec ll, Fig. 2. By means of such an apparatus a tion in order to more clearly illustrate the coating resistant to moisture may be sprayed onto invention. sheets passing through the machine over a 3., Fig, 3 is a plan view of the machine with the foraminous belt l8. heaters and some of the other parts removed. In the drier itself there are two stacks of racks Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional detail of one of or trays I?! which are identical in form and size. the trays. In the operation of the machine each tray travels Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the opstep by step in a closed circuit up the right-hand 40 crating mechanism for lifting and lowering the stack, crosswise from the top of that stack to the 40 stacks of trays. top of the left-hand stack, down that stack, and Fig. 6 is a similar view showing mechanism for from the bottom of that stack to the bottom of the operating the dogs on one side of the descending right-hand or upgoing stack, after which the stack. cycle is repeated.

.3 Fig. 7 is a fragmental perspective view showing Each tray consists of a metal end rail ill of one corner of a tray in position upon the track at angle form, two side bars 2!, formed preferably the bottomoi' the apparatus. of wood, and a series of fly sticks 22, also of Wood.

Fig. 8 is an elevational view, partly in section, The side bars 2i are of constant height throughshowing the sheet gripper functioning to remove out their lengths, and arerecessed at one end to.

iii) a sheet from the lowermost tray of the descendreceive the horizontal flange of the end rail 2!] ins Sta kp to which they are securely bolted. The fly sticks Fig. 9 is a fragmental perspective view illus 22 are also bolted to the end rail 20, as illustrated trating the means for operating the sheet in Fig. 4. The frame of the tray therefore conpp sists of one end rail 20 and two side bars 2l, there r Fig. 10 is a detail elevational view of a valve being no frame piece for the opposite end of the tray. The side bars 2| of each tray rest upon the side bars of the tray next beneath. The fly sticks 22 are of less height than the side bars 2 I, and the fly sticks of each tray are thereby spaced vertically from those of the trays next above and next beneath.

Along the sides of the frame there are bottom rails. 23, upon which the side bars 2.| of the lowermost tray of each stack are adapted to rest. To these rails there are attached angle bar guides 24 which extend above the level of the rails a short distance for engagement with the inner surfaces of the side bars 2|, thereby maintaining the lowermost trays in alignment Y with the rails 23. e

For the ascending stack there are two vertical guides 25 which extend down to the rails 23 and two guides 26 which are spaced from the rails 23 somewhat more thanthe depth of one tray.

For the descending stack there are long guides 21 similar to the guides 25, and other guides 28 similar to the guides 26. The inner guides 26 and 28 have upper ends at a lower height than the guides 25 and 21 in order that trays may pass over them when being shifted from the righthand stack to the left-handstack. These guides 25, 26, 21 and 28 hold the trays against endwise movement as they travel up or down. The trays are held against sidewise movement by the vertical members of the machine frame.

The shifting of trays crosswise at the top of the machine is accomplished by means of dogs 29 that are pivoted to a pair of endless chains 30, the lower runs of which travel together first in one direction and then in the other. These dogs 29 are pivoted at their rear ends to the chain, and are notched at their forward ends for engagement with the end rail 20 of the uppermost tray when movement of the dogs takes place toward the left in Fig. 2. In the opposite direction the dogs ride back and over the rail 29 of the next tray in the upgoing stack.

The chains 30 are carried by pairs of sprockets 3| and 32, the latter sprockets being keyed to a shaft 33 which carries a further sprocket heel 34, over which runs a driving chain 35 that extends down to a sprocket wheel 36 on a shaft 31. Keyed to shaft 31 there is a pinion 38 which meshes with a rack 39 that is held in engagement with pinion 38 by means of a stirrup 40, which is free to swing on shaft 31. The rack preferably travels over a roller bearing 4| mounted in the stirrup. The rack 39 is formed in the free end of a reciprocating bar 42 which is mounted upon a crank 43 carried by the main power shaft 44 of the machine. It will therefore be apparent that for each revolution of shaft 44 the chains 35 and 30 travel a predetermined distance in one direction and a corresponding distance in the reverse direction. The parts are designed to cause movement of a tray from the top of the right-hand stack in Fig. 2 over to the left until the end rail 20 of the tray engages the guide 21.

In this transfer the moving tray slides upon the side bar 2| of the next tray beneath in the righthand stack and upon the uppermost tray in the left-hand stack.- Should the position of the shifted tray be not quite far enough o the left, the tray will be guided into correct position by the curved upper ends of the guides 28.

. The lowermost tray in the left-hand stack moves toward the right simultaneously with the transfer of the top tray toward the left as just described. This movement of the lowermost tray is accomplished by a pair of dogs 45 which, as

shown in Fig. 2, have weighted ends tending to swing the notched ends of the dogs upwardly into engagement with the end rail 20 of the lowermost tray. These dogs are pivotally mounted intermediate their ends upon the upper runs of two endless chains 46. The latter are mounted to run over sprocket wheels 41, idlers 48 and sprocketwheels 49 keyed upon shaft 31. Hence the reverse rotary motion of shaft 31 imparted to it by the rack and pinion 39 and 38 causes reverse movements in the two chains 46. As the upper runs of the chains 46 move toward the right the dogs 45 push the lowermost tray over into position beneath the right-hand stack. On the return travel of the chains 46 the dogs 45 ride back beneath the next tray, as will be apparent.

On the side bars 2| of each of the trays I mount outwardly projecting angles 50, the lower flanges of which are in horizontal alignment with the lower flanges of the end rails 20, which likewise project outwardly beyond the side bars 2|. These outwardly projecting parts are engaged by the lifting and lowering elements about to be described.

Along each of the side rails 23 of the machine frame I mount a series of brackets 5|, 52, 53 and 54 in which are pivotally mounted bell cranks 55, 56, 51 and 58, respectively. The power arms of all of these bell cranks are pivotally connected with a reciprocating rod 59 which is preferably made in a plurality of parts with turnbuckles 60 interposed between adjacent bell cranks for adjustment purposes. A compression spring 6| guided by a rod 62 pivoted at 63 to the machine frame tends to move the rod 59 to the left. Integral with the bell crank 56 there is an additional arm 64 to which is pivoted an adjustable link 65 that is connected at its lower end to a crank 66 on a shaft 61 which also carries a crank 68 with a follower 69 on its extremity running upon a cam 10 keyed to the shaft 44. The contour of cam in is such that throughout about half a revolution of shaft 44 the rod 59 will occupy the position illustrated in Fig. 2, while during the other half revolution the rod will move to the left and back again to the position illustrated. It will be understood that the crank 66, the link 65 and all of the other parts referred to are duplicated upon the opposite side of the machine.

The load arms for each of the bell cranks 55 and 56 carry pivots 1| upcn which are mounted dogs 12 which are thus capable of swinging in an in and out direction with respect to the trays. Pins 13 and 14 mounted in each dog and bell crank respectively limit the inward movement of the dog in response to the action of a coil spring 15. When the load arm of the bell crank lever is moving upwardly, or when it is held in its upper position, the dog 12 is in engagement with the projecting horizontal flange of rail 20, as shown in Fig. 12. At the same time the similar dog on bell crank 55 is in engagement with the angle on the same tray, and the stack of trays is thereby supported by the two bell cranks 55.

and 56. When the load arms on these two bell cranks move downwardly the stack is deposited upon the side bars of the tray which has then been slid beneath the stack from the left, after which the further downward movement of the bell crank load arms causes the dogs to be cammed outwardly around the projecting parts on the latter tray, due to the inclined surfaces 16 on the dogs, the springs 15 yielding to permit this action. As soon as the dogs 12 get beneath these projecting parts, they snap back into operative position ready to perform the next lifting operation.

The bell crank levers 51 and 58 also carry dogs 12' which may be identical with the dogs I2 above described. The dogs 12' however ca'rry plates ll which extend over the load arms of the levers and terminate in pins 18. These pins on the two dogs are received in slots 19 formed in a bar which is thus supported by these pins. It will be obvious that if the bar 80 is caused to move toward the right from the position illustrated in Fig. 11, it will cause the plates II to swing the dogs 12. counterclockwise on' their pivots ll against the pressure of spring 15.. 'By this means the dogs are retracted out of operative relation with the projecting parts 20 and 50, and this retraction is caused to take place when the load arms of the bell cranks 51 and 58 are about to move upwardly. In this manner the dogs are withdrawn to enable the load arms of the bell cranks to pass upwardly over the projecting parts of the lowermost tray. Thereafter they are immediately permitted to return to operative position so as to engage beneath the projecting parts on the tray next above.

The means for reciprocating bar 80 comprises a long link or bar 8| pivoted at one end to the .bar 80 and at the other end to the upper arm of a lever 82 which ispivotally supported at 03 and carries at its lower end a follower 84 that runs upon a cam 85 keyed to shaft 44. As will be observedfrom the contour of this cam, the dogs 12 are retracted during about one-fourth of each revolution of shaft 44.

At the middle of the machine between the two guides 20 and 28 I mount a transverse stop bar 80, the position of which is preferably adjustable vertically. When sheets are delivered to the drier they are moved forward at regular intervals by any suitable means, as for instance by the reticulated belt l8. In .the machine somewhere within the ascending stack of trays I provide a sheet conveyor. The mounting for this conveyor is preferably such that it may be supported at any one of a number of different elevations, which facilitates the adaptation of the machine to different printing presses and other paper handling machines in which the height of the paper delivering conveyors may vary.

For the purpose indicated I may mount a transversely extending bar 8'! in the framework at the right-hand end of the machine as viewed in the drawings. In projections extending. upwardly from the ends. of this bar I mount a shaft 88, and on this shaft at points located between successive fly sticks 22 I secure grooved pulleys 89. The bar 81 at points located beneath the pulleys 89 supports long bracket arms 90 with upturned free ends in which are mounted other grooved pulleys 9!. The bracket arms 90 are of less width than 'the space between successive sticks 22, so that they do not interfere with the upward travel of those sticks. Flexible conveyorbelts 92 run upon the pulleys 89 and 9|.

- Shaft 08 is driven by suitable means from shaft 44. In the case illustrated it is rotated by a driving belt 93 which runs upon a pulley 94 keyed to the shaft and upon a pulley 95 keyed to a shaft 96 upon which is mounted an elongated pulley or roller 9'! which supports and drives the reticulated belt IS. The shaft 96 is in turn driven by a chain 91' running over a sprocket wheel 98 on one extremity of shaft 96 and over a sprocket wheel 99 on power shaft 44. Obviously the drive araaaso shaft 44.

to shaft 88 could be direct from shaft 44 if desired. A sheet fed onto theconveyor belts 92 is carried to the left thereby until it strikes against the stop 86, when its movement is interrupted. It will be observed that the sheet then projects a short distance beyond the rear end of the tray. The operations are so timed that before the next sheet is delivered onto the conveyor belts 92 the stack of trays has risen to place an empty tray in position to receive the sheet.

The sheet in the uppermost tray of the righthand stack is subjected to the direct action of a pair of electric heaters I00 which extend preferably all the way across the machine. The uppermost sheet in the left-hand stack is similarly subjected to the direct action of a pair of electric heaters I0l. Other heating elements may be disposed elsewhere in the machine if desired, but I have found that those illustrated are as a rule sufllcient where the sheets are sprayed with quick drying lacquers or the like. The fact that the side bars 2! of the various trays in a stack are arranged one upon another, forming uninterrupted side walls, is of assistance in retaining the heat absorbed by the sheets as they pass beneath the heaters.

The delivery of sheets from the bottom of the left-hand stack of trays is effected by holding the rear edge of the sheet in the lowermost tray while that tray is transferred to the bottom of the right-hand stack. The holding means may consist of one or more grippers which move in and out, that is toward and away from the sheet, the grippers having jaws that close and open to grip and release the sheet.

As illustrated in the drawings, particularly Fig. 9, I provide slotted plates I02 on opposite frame members at the rear of the machine. In the slots of these plates the ends of a transverse rod I03 are slidably supported, so that the rod is free to move bodily in a direction at right angles to its length. Upon this rod I03 there, are fixedly mounted gripper elements Hi4, each of which at its forward end has a lower paper gripping jaw. Another gripper element I05 is pivoted at I06 to each of the elements I04. The forward end of each gripper element I05 constitutes an upper paper gripping jaw. The two elements I04 and I05 together form an instrument resembling a pair of pliers, the rear portions of which are normally held apart by a coil spring l0l, thereby separating the gripper jaws on the forward end of the pliers. The rod I03, as will be seen from Fig.9, is positioned approximately abovea fixed rod I08, Figs. 9 and 10. The rod I03 is caused to moveback and forth in the slotted plates I02 by two or more links I09 pivoted to the rod at their forward ends and to cranks H0 at their rear ends. The cranks I i0 are keyed to a rock shaft II I which is supported upon the frame for oscillation by means of a crank arm H2, to the lower extremity of which is pivoted a long link H3. The opposite end of the latter link is pivotally connected with a lever H4 pivoted to the frame at H5 and carrying at its lower end a follower H6 running upon a cam Ill keyed to The gripper elements normally extend to the rear of the position illustrated in Fig. 8, with the springs I01 holding the jaws open. When the follower H 6 starts from the low spot of cam Ill and runs up toward the high part of the cam the gripper jaws travel bodily forward or toward the right, one above and one below the rearwardly projecting paper sheet, indicated at S in the drawings. As the lower gripper element I05 rides over the rod I08 the rear part of element I05 is cammed upwardly and the element is thereby turned upon its pivot I06 causing the upper edge to move toward the lower edge and firmly grip the sheet of paper in the lowermost tray. That tray is then slid toward the right out from under the left-hand stack. When it is entirely out of the way the gripper moves rearwardly. The first result of this rearward movement is the opening of the jaws, whereupon the sheet is permitted to fall onto a pile II 8 (Fig. 2) that is carried upon platform I I9 provided with legs I20.

I provide mechanism for gradually lowering the platform II9 automatically as the height of the pile II8 thereon increases. To this end the platform is suspended upon pieces of pipe I2I projecting beyond the sides of the platform, where they are encircled by rings I22 on the lower ends of cables I23 and I24. Both sets of these cables are wound upon drums at the outer ends of a shaft I25, the cables'I23 first passing over sheaves I26 on the ends of a shaft I21. The turning of the shaft I clockwise lowers both pipes I2I to an equal extent. I

The movement of shaft I25 is controlled and effected by means of a worm gear I28 fixed on the shaft and meshing with a worm I29 which is mounted on one end of a shaft I30. This latter shaft carries a ratchet wheel I3I with which a pawl I32 cooperates. This pawl is pivoted on one arm of a bell crank I33, the other arm of which is pivotally connected with a vertically disposed link I34. At the lower extremity of this link there is a pivot I35 which is adjustably mounted in a slotted arm I36 forming part of a bell crank pivoted at I31. The other arm I38 of this bell crank is pivotally connected with a link I 39 which is pivoted to a crank I40, the latter being keyed to the shaft upon which the bell crank 58 is mounted.

With every oscillation of bell crank 50 there will obviously be imparted to the shaft I a ratcheting movement which will turn the shaft I25 through a small increment of a circle, thereby lowering the paper pile very slowly. The degree of movement may be varied to compensate for varying thicknesses of .paper sheets by moving the adjustable pivot I inwardly or outwardly in the slotted arm I 36. When the pile of paper has been lowered as far as it will go, that is when the legs I20 of the platform strike the floor, the pipes I2I are withdrawn, a truck is run beneath the platform H0, and the pile of paper is moved out of the machine. A new platform is then moved into position and the pipes HI and rings I22 again adjusted. The operator thereupon raises the platform to its initial position by holding the pawl I32 temporarily out of operation with the ratchet wheel, and turning a crank I4I on the shaft I 30. The power shaft 44 of the machine may be operated in any suitable manner but I prefer to mount upon it a pulley I42 and to drive that pulley by means of a belt I43 from a printing press or other paper handling machine with which the present machine is used, thereby insuring perfect timing.

In Fig. 10 I have illustrated an adjustable cam I44 mounted upon shaft 44. Such a cam may be employed to control the action of the spraying device when the. machine is used in conjunction with such a device. This cam is built in two parts which are angularly adjustable so as to vary the length of the high portion of the cam in order to control the time interval during which the spray is effective. A lever I45 pivoted at I46 to a valve casing I41 has a follower I48 which is as long as the combined thickness of the two cam sectors. This lever I45 is adapted to engage a sliding pin I49 which extends into the valve casing and operates a valve (not shown), in the air line of the spraying apparatus.

Operation.--Assumin'g that sheets are being delivered at regular intervals onto the conveyor tapes 92, each sheet travels over those tapes until it strikes the stop 86. As soon as this occurs the right-hand stack begins to move upwardly, the dogs 12 engaging beneath the projecting parts 20 and 50 on the lowermost tray, and the bell cranks and 56 turning clockwise. The tray containing the sheet is thereby raised one step and another tray is brought into position to receive thev next sheet. When the first named tray reaches the top of the stack the rail 20 of that tray is engaged by the dogs 29 and slid to the left as the lower run of chain 30 is moved toward the left by the rotation of pinion 38 by means of rack 39.

When the bell cranks 55 and 56 raise the righthand stack, the load arms of bell cranks 51 and 58 move upwardly a like amount. Before their movement begins however the dogs 12' are withdrawn by link 8| and rod 80, so that during the first part of this upward movement the dogs are raised above the projecting parts 20 and 50 of the posed trays, resting upon the rails 23. Before the upward movement is finished the dogs 12' are again released and the springs 15 move them forward into position beneath the projections of the next tray above.- The last part of the upward movement takes the weight of the stack off the lowermost tray. Then thelowermost' tray is moved to the right by the means previously explained until it stands beneath the right-hand stack, which is still supported by the bell cranks 55 and 56. As this transfer takes place the sheet in the lowermost tray is withdrawn and deposited upon the pile H8. The transfers of the uppermost tray to the left and the lowermost tray to the right take place simultaneously, both of these operations being controlled by the. shaft 31.

The rod 59 now moves toward the left lowering all of the load arms of the bell cranks 55, 56,

51 and 58. The-right-hand stack is lowered onto of the machine until its weight is taken upon the rails 23. The cycle is then complete and ready for the next upward movement of the bell cranks.

Variations from the described structure may be employed. Accordingly I desire it to be understood that the scope of the invention is to be regarded as defined exclusively by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description or the accompanying illustration.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, a series of trays adapted to be stacked, each of said trays comprising side bars of constant height throughout, a metallic end rail attached to said side bars and projecting laterally beyond the side bars, a series of fly sticks parallel with the side bars and supported upon said end rail, the side bars of each tray being adapted to rest upon the side bars of the tray below, laterally extending projections on the side bars spaced from the projecting ends of the end rail, and means cooperating with said projections and projecting ends for moving the trays one after another in a vertical direction.

2. In a machine of the class stacks of trays, means for advancing a tray from the top of one stack to the top of the other stack and for advancing a tray from the bottom of the last named'stack to the bottom of the first stack, and means for raising the first stack and lowering the second stack a step at a time, which comprises a plurality of bell crank levers at each side of each stack, projections on the trays, laterally movable dogs on each bell crank, adapted in their inner positions to engagebeneath said projections, and means for connecting together all of the bell cranks on one side of the machine to cause them tomove simultaneously.

3. In combination, two stacks of trays arranged side by side, means for causing movement of the trays step by step in a closed circuit up one stack and down the other, comprising a series of four bell crank levers on each side of the apparatus, a reciprocating rod pivotally connected to the power arms of the four levers on each side, projections on the trays adapted to be engaged by the load arms of the four levers, and means for disabling the load arms of the levers for one stack when the rod moves in one direction and for disabling the load arms for the other stack when the rod moves in the opposite direction.

4 -In apparatus of the classdescribed, a. stack of trays, means for withdrawing the lowermost tray and for thereafter lowering the stack and described, two

of trays, means for withdrawing the lowermost tray and for thereafter lowering the stack and repeating those operations at timed intervals, said lowering means comprising a pair of bell crank levers on each side of the apparatus, dogs on the load arms of the bell crank levers adapted to engage a tray, means interconnecting said dogs movable up and down with the simultaneously moving load arms of the levers and adapted to shift the dogs out of operative position when the interconnecting means is actuated, and mechanism for actuating said interconnecting means.

6. In apparatus of the class described, a stack of trays, means for withdrawing the lowermost tray and'for thereafter lowering the stack and for repeating those operations at timed intervals, 1

said lowering means comprising a plurality of hell crank levers on each side of the apparatus, dogs mounted to swing horizontally on the load arms of said levers into and out of operative HANS HONIGMAN. 

